Over the past few decades autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) have come to play a critical role in the mapping and exploration of our oceans. Autonomous robotic systems are currently applied within a wide range of ocean operations with examples including long range sensing, mapping, inspection, and maintenance or repair of underwater structures. In an effort to meet the operational requirements of these different tasks, engineers have designed a host of different underwater robotic platforms. Each of these robotic platforms are designed with mission-specific operational capabilities. For example, some robotic platforms are torpedo-like vehicles for long range sensing missions which require speed and efficiency, while others are slower cube-shaped thruster vehicles for inspection and maintenance tasks which require agility and precision. Although many of these AUVs are effective in their mission-specific operational capabilities, they are extremely costly to build, maintain, and operate. Additionally, these AUVs have complex mechanical systems designed for the different applications.